Wentworth graduated from Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, Texas and later graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.A. He later obtained a J.D. from Texas Tech University.

Wentworth is a self employed attorney and has served that position since 1970. Prior to his election to the state senate, he was a representative in the Texas House of Representatives from 1988 to 1992.[2]

Campaign donors

2010

Wentworth raised a total of $514,240 in 2010. Below are Wentworth's top 6 campaign contributors in the 2010 election:[11]

Contributor

2010 total

Texas Trial Lawyers Association

$15,000

Baron & Budd

$10,000

Texas Association of Realtors

$10,000

Simmons, Harold C.

$8,000

Texans Medical Association

$7,500

Texans for Economic Development

$7,500

2006

In 2006, a year in which Wentworth was up for re-election, he collected $786,400 in donations.[12]

His four largest contributors in 2006 were:

Donor

Amount

Marvin Rush

$55,000

Texas Association of Mortgage Attorneys

$25,000

Valero Energy

$15,000

BG Distribution Partners

$12,500

2002

In 2002, a year in which Wentworth was up for re-election, he collected $1,127,678 in donations.[13]

His three largest contributors in 2002 were:

Donor

Amount

Texas Association of Realtors

$57,500

Texas Medical Association

$25,063

Texas Dental Association

$22,500

Legislative sessions

82nd (2011-2012)

Redistricting

Senator Wentworth expressed pessimism over the inherent partisanship in the redistricting process early on in the 2011 cycle, noting "It's pretty certain it will be another mess. Neither party handles this well."[14] When asked how he thought the 2011 redistricting cycle would go, Wentworth noted that the stated goal of the congressional delegation "is for all the Republican and Democratic congressmen in the Texas delegation to come up with a map they can all agree on, that would protect every incumbent congressman regardless of party, and then divide the four new districts 2-2. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen. If it does, it will be the first time."[14]

Acknowledging the impossibility of removing partisanship from the redistricting process, Senator Wentworth sponsored a bill (SB 22) during the special session to create an independent citizen redistricting commission. The aim of the bill was to make the process fairer and less politically charged. The Senate passed the bill on June 22, 2011, but it died in the House. The Senate passed similar bills in 2005 and 2007; both times the bills were defeated in the House.[15]

Texas is among the states that must submit their redistricting plans to the federal government for approval under the auspices of the Voting Rights Act.[16] The standard route for obtaining federal approval is for states to submit their plans to the Voting Rights Division of the Department of Justice; this is the route Texas had taken in the past. But Senator Wentworth noted from the beginning of the 82nd session that Texas would probably not submit their redistricting plans to the Justice Department for preclearance during the 2011 cycle, citing the partisanship of the Obama administration's DOJ as reason.[14]

Wentworth said that Texas could use the alternate method of going directly to the courts and having their redistricting plans reviewed by a three-judge federal court in DC. "I don't believe it would be in Texas' interest to even go the route of trying to get precleared by the Department of Justice," explained Senator Wentworth.[14] Speaking on the DOJ's Voting Rights Division he commented "They're not only Democrats, they're partisan Democrats. Before, you had a professional, career Voting Rights division [staff] at the Department of Justice. Now, you have a partisan Democratic Voting Rights division. Many of us, including me, are convinced that there's not a map that we can draw that they would approve, so it's a waste of time and money."[14]

Scorecards

Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index

Empower Texans produces the Fiscal Responsibility Index as "a measurement of how lawmakers perform on size and role of government issues." The index uses "exemplar votes on core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators' governing philosophy."[18] Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.

2011

Jeff Wentworth received a grade of F on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.

Personal

Wentworth was born on November 20, 1940 in Mercedes, Tx. He and his wife, Karla, have two children: Jason and Matthew.